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Restaurants were good, especially the steak house - Review of Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This was my family's first time at an all inclusive and we were not disappointed. Loved the pools, the beach, the Star Friends and all the wildlife around the resort. Loved the jungle feel. Restaurants were good, especially the steak house. Breakfast buffets were great! Reservation times were not very good as our large group always got stuck with the late ones. Do to our late meal times we were not able to watch the evening shows every night but we really enjoyed the ones we did see. The staff was always friendly. Rooms were clean but not very sound proof to noises in the hallway. The beds were hard but no problem sleeping on them. We really appreciated the extra work put into our room with the little creations that were made and placed on our bed every day. Lots of daily activities to participate in (no one should complain of being bored). Beautiful beach. Surf was high the entire time but we still played in the water. My family and i will definitely return again!

Stayed March 2013

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Ask Albertaca about Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

On behalf of Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal, we would like to thank you for visiting our resort during your recent vacation here. Your positive comments regarding our food, our friendly staff and the clean rooms are much appreciated.

Your experience and the information you are providing may help others to choose Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal for their next vacation in Mexico.

Thank you once again for your comments. It would be a pleasure to welcome you and your family back to our resort in the near future.

Kind regards,

Quality ManagerIberostar Mexico

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

This is a very well run hotel in beautiful grounds and set beside a lovely beach. On our arrival we were treated to a welcome drink in reception while they sorted out the papers and then very swiftly a porter took us and our luggage on a small buggy to our room. Very efficient.

Our room was on the 2nd floor in block 14 which looks out onto the jungle. It was spacious and clean and was well equipped with everything we needed. We found the bed to be very comfortable. We were able to watch the monkeys swinging branch to branch while sitting on the balcony. Because of the trees the room was rather dark and fairly cool. The only downside to this room was the very noisy ice machine near the room. This would dispense ice all by itself very loudly and woke us up several times each night. Even my ear plugs didn't shut out this noise. We did report it to reception and were told to phone back in the middle of the night as soon as it happened which seemed extraordinary. We didn’t want to make a fuss in the middle of the night so didn’t bother reporting it again.

There was a very good choice of food and this was mostly very good. We enjoyed all our meals in the buffet restaurants both lunchtimes and evenings. My husband loved the fruit fritters and I loved the choice of fresh of melon at every meal as well as all the other fresh fruit on offer. Both the Japanese restaurant and the Steak restaurant were excellent and the waiters were very attentive. However, our meal in the Italian restaurant was rather disappointing, although again the waiters were very attentive.

The entertainment team were the best we have ever encountered. They look as if they’re having fun all day and we joined in several of the activities on offer. We enjoyed the shows in the evening as well as the live band and dancing which was usually on before and after the shows. There was also a very talented guitarist some evenings playing in the cocktail bar.

I am a keen tennis player and was disappointed with the organised tennis. I went along to the advanced tennis at 8am but this turned out to be about 20 minutes doing one routine involving non-stop running – exhausting. I was hoping for something more enjoyable and sociable. Didn’t bother to go again.

We went on a trip to the Tulum Mayan ruins. This was booked through a guy on the beach and was with Tulum Express. I would not recommend this company as it took nearly 3 hours to get there when it was only a 45 minutes journey. This was due to picking up from other hotels, being dropped off from one vehicle and waiting around for a coach to take us there. As this was only a morning excursion we didn’t have very long there. However, the guide was very informative when we got there but I wish we had done this trip with Thomson.

I would recommend this hotel. Apart from the noisy ice machine and the tennis, everything else was perfect and we enjoyed our holiday. We loved walking through the jungle looking at the animals and birds. We also appreciated all the staff who all seemed to be happy in their work and were very friendly. Iberostar should be proud of them.

Stayed March 2013, traveled as a couple

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Ask LeicesterTennisstar about Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

On behalf of the hotel Management, we would like to thank you for posting your review about your experience at Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal and for choosing our hotel for your vacations.

We are very pleased to read that our beautiful premises and the excellent service provided by our friendly staff ensured you a memorable holiday. We are indeed very proud of our staff and thank you very much for your observation.

On the other hand, we have shared your comments on the ice machine and suggestions regarding tennis lessons with the persons involved and we will be working on it.

It would be a pleasure to welcome you back again, please do not hesitate to contact us before your next visit.

With regards,

Quality ManagerIberostar Mexico

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We have just returned from 8 days at Iberostar Tucan. We have to daughters, 9 and 11.

My wife is in love with Hawaii and wants to go there for every tropical vacation. I have been trying to convince her to go to Mexico for over 20 years but she sees reports of drug violence in Mexico and has been afraid to go. After showing her that the US Dept. of State has never issued a traveler safety advisory for Quintana Roo, she reluctantly agreed to give it a try. We selected the Iberostar Tucan based on reviews and the "eco" aspect.

We booked online directly with the resort and selected the round-trip private airport transfer. We did not get off to a good start when there was nobody waiting for us at the Cancun airport. I started to get the "See, I told you so" look. After about 15 minutes, we found a host from Iberostar in the arrivals area and he had a private minivan for us within a matter of minutes. Apparently, there was a technical problem between the hotel and the transfer company because while we had a confirmation for the transfer from hotel, we never received a separate confirmation from the transfer company. Because of this, we did not have a return transfer either, but a taxi was no problem and Iberostar refunded our payment for the transfer service within days and without me having to file a claim. All-in-all, a small bump in road. The taxis are spotlessly clean and I will use them round trip next time.

The lobby of the hotel is beautiful -- open air with thousands of square feet of perfectly polished marble floors, parrots chattering, iguanas basking in the grass, and monkeys in the treetops. Check-in was quick and we were given wristbands that identified us as hotel guests and gave us access to all the resort's amenities. We were given a standard ground-floor room halfway between the lobby and the pool area. The resort is actually two in one -- the Quetzal and the Tucan, each with its own lobby and restaurants, sharing the pools, beach, and other facilities. The entire resort has an "eco" setting with cobblestone paths meandering through native jungle between buildings. Tzereques (rabbit/squirrel/deer thingies), peacocks, Guinea fowl, iguanas, koatis, and monkeys are everywhere. I heard or read that there are 16 indigenous species living on the resort grounds. This two-in-one concept gives the resort a feeling that it is smaller than it really is, which is a good thing. As a guest, you have full access to both halves of the resort.

The rooms are very nice and have great air-conditioning and ceiling fans. I was told that this is one of the older resorts in the area but the rooms were in great shape. They include a refrigerator with limited mini-bar (beer, soft drinks, water) and an electronic safe. We kept our passports and large cash in the safe but left small bills, iPads, computers, phones, etc. out and had no problem. The beds were firm but comfortable. The entertainment is near the lobby and runs until 11PM every night so if you go to bed early and want quiet, request a room closer to the beach/pool.

Security is excellent with two guarded gates to get into the property and an armed guard on the beach all day. In fact, I'm a seasoned global traveler with over 150 foreign stamps in my current passport and I felt more secure in Playa del Carmen than in many other places that I visit, including Paris, London, and almost any large city or tourist area in the US. There is a significant police presence in the Playa del Carmen town and according to the locals, there is a tremendous effort in the community to make it safe for tourism. Without the US tourists, the area would end up like Cuba -- a beautiful area with crumbling infrastructure and economic challenges. Instead, Playa del Carmen is amazingly clean with no litter or graffiti, no thugs or panhandlers, and no hoards of children selling gum. It is very touristy so avoid it if that is not your thing. We rode bikes from the resort into the town's main street/port and felt very safe the whole time. Even the traffic on the main hotel drag was considerate of bicycles.

Shopping in the Playa del Carmen tourist/port area (5th Street) was fun and typically Mexican, with lots of pottery, crafts, clothing, and gorgeous jewelry. Generally, haggling is the custom so don't spend more that 40-50% of the opening price. The restaurants here were fantastic and next time we will go to town for more meals.

Iberostar is based in Spain and only about 25% of the guests are from the US. Our kids enjoyed the "international" experience and we met lots of fun and interesting people from Germany, Russia, Canada, Spain, and Italy.

The food at the resort was good. The menu restaurants were very nice and we like the Japanese tepanyaki one the best. The buffets were good, with reasonable variety, but they are no match for the spectacular buffets I see in SE Asia. However, they are convenient and there is never a line. You will never go hungry. The service is excellent in both the menu restaurants and the buffets. Be sure make reservations for the menu restaurants at guest services kiosk in the lobby as soon as you arrive because they fill up fast. You are limited to three reservations at a time.

The staff is friendly and they all speak English quite well. They were very encouraging of, and entertained by, our attempts at Spanish.

The pool is gigantic, warm, and crystal clear. My kids lived in it. It is surrounded by lounge chairs and four palapas. All are first-come, first-served. You can find chairs as late as 10AM but the palapas are nabbed by 6:00AM by the early risers. We had a palapa for a lazy day and really enjoyed it. There are always plenty of beach lounge chairs and umbrellas any time of day. You are issued beach/pool towels on arrival, one per person, and have to keep track of them for your entire stay, but you can exchange them for clean dry towels at the pool as often as you like. This worked really well.

The beach is world-class with that incredible Caribbean white sand and turquoise water. Water temp was about 80° and air temps ranged from 68° to 80°. Hobie Cats, kayaks, and snorkeling gear is available all day though you need to reserve the Hobies and Kayaks at the dive center in the morning. I have a Hobie myself and the four at the Tucan are rough but serviceable and we had a blast on screaming reaches up and down the shoreline. Regarding the earlier comment by Monoson, all four Hobies were out much of the time; we had no trouble getting one. The dive center staff was fantastic; what a great group of kids from all over the world. They took a personal interest in each of us and provided outstanding service. My 11 year-old daughter got her PADI Scuba Diver certification and we went diving together at Cozumel. My 9 year-old daughter was too young for the full course but she took two sessions of the Bubble Maker course and loved every minute of it. She and my wife snorkeled in Cozumel and had a great time.

There are activities all day. My wife attended tennis lessons in the morning, then played singles and doubles with other guests afterward. One of the two tennis courts was pretty run down but I understand it is going to be overhauled this spring. We did water Zumba, ceramic crafts, played on the beach and in the warm surf. The magic show was really great; the others we saw were OK. It's not Las Vegas.

We did not visit the any of the ruins though I have been to them before (back when you could climb the temple at Chichen Itza). They are definitely worthwhile and we will get to them next time. We did do the nearby Dolphin Discovery and spent a hour swimming with dolphins. This is not cheap but is a great experience.

I would like to send a special thanks to the following Iberostar staff for their excellent service:

Mery at the front desk who helped us sort out our transfer problem with a smile.

Erika and Andre in the photo center who got some incredible professional photos of our kids.

Elena, Olaf, Willem, Dirigo, Jullien, and Charley at the dive shack for the patience and caring they showed my kids during scuba and the great dive/snorkel trip to Cozumel, especially my timid 9 year-old. They really went out of their way to look after us an make sure we had a great time.

Alex for the video of my youngest in Bubble Makers; what a treasure.

Jesus at the guest services kiosk for answering all our questions and helping us sort out the restaurant reservations.

The two gents at the ceramic painting activity. The are really artists and the pieces they help us make are really beautiful.

I would recommend this resort without hesitation to any family. If the buffets matched what I see at hotels in Singapore, Indonesia, and Malaysia, I would have given it five spots instead of four. We will definitely return, but we will eat more dinners in town.

Room Tip: Closer to the beach/pool for quite; closer to the lobby/restaurants for convenience.

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Stayed March 2013, traveled with family

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Ask 75GordonP about Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

First of all we would like to thank you for choosing Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal as the destination for your vacations, also for taking the time to post your comments about your stay.

We would like to express how honored we are to read that you enjoyed a memorable stay with us. We appreciate your motivating comments referring our gastronomy, the excellent service provided by our friendly staff and the beauty of our grounds. We have forwarded your feedback on our buffet to our Executive Chef for consideration.

We kindly ask you to write us before your next visit; it will be a pleasure for us to welcome you back at Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal.

With regards,

Quality ManagerIberostar Mexico

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Very large complex with very personal attention, very cool free range animals everywhere, awesome fresh fruit and great family appeal. Great selection of activities and food, although limited in the included water sports, considering the number of people this place can accommodate (really just 2 catamarans out at a time out of 4)! Rooms ok, but find one far from the evening entertainment, or you'll hear every show, every night, when you're trying to sleep, like I did. Rent a car, visit Tulum and Coba, and snorkel the grand Cenote. Explore the ruins, not the ridiculous tourist shopping district. Try the cactus juice!

Stayed March 2013, traveled with family

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Review collected in partnership with Iberostar

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Ask Monoson about Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

We would like to thank you for choosing Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal for your holidays and for taking the time to post a review about your experience among us.

We want to express you our happiness when reading how you highlighted the good service of our staff and our gastronomy. These are one of our guiding principles in Iberostar so we can ensure a memorable stay to our beloved guests.

We will be more than happy to welcome you back again. Please feel free to contact us before your next visit.

With regards,

Quality ManagerIberostar Mexico

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Overall the the resort was a very good value. It was not as big as most that are in the area and that was nice. The Ala Carte restaurants were very good. The food in the main buffet did not have much variety, but it was decent in quality. You will not go hungry! The beach and water entry is about the best in the area. It was very sandy to get into the ocean, perfect. Nightly entertaiment is very limited and not very lively. We would recommend this resort. Great family resort.

Jim from South Lyon Michigan

Stayed March 2013, traveled with family

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Ask jim_bentley about Iberostar Tucan Hotel

This review is the subjective opinion of a TripAdvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

On behalf of all our staff and Management, we want to thank you for choosing Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal for your vacations in March! We are glad to know that you were able to enjoy all our services overall.

We want to express you our happiness when reading how you highlighted our A la Carte Restaurants. However, we regret to hear that our buffet could not meet your expectations. At Iberostar we aim to cater for our international clientele with different palates, but we certainly believe that our guests’ comments provide us with useful insights to assist our staff to identify areas of concern. We will review along with the department involved the issues presented.

We remain at your disposal for further assistance, and hope to have the pleasure to welcome you back to Iberostar Tucan & Quetzal in the near future.

We hope you can visit us again soon!

Best regards, Quality ManagerIberostar Mexico

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

My sons (8 and 11) and I just spent five days here. I had researched a lot of Playa del Carmen all-inclusives and I picked the right one! The property is beautiful and immaculate - also interesting. Even a walk through the jungle path to the pool or restaurants is full of fun and amazement, with animals and peacocks just walking by with you or hanging out!

One great thing about Iberostar, like about a dozen other hotels, it's in a gated community called Playacar so you are perfectly fine and safe to walk out of the resort and go for a run, or walk over to the Starbucks and shop about 7 minutes away.

We were in Building 11 in a jr suite ocean front. Nice and comfy bed; great having a spacioius balcony overlooking the water. Beaches beautiful and clean. Pool is biggest i've ever seen, not overly crowded and pristine. Kids loved ice cream bar and hot dog and burger stand near beach, open most of the day. Staff are very very friendly and upbeat and always smiling. There are pool or beach resort activities every hour, from Zumba to Bingo to water basketball.

Kids will never be bored. There's also a basketball court and soccer set up near tennis courts.

Don't miss the bike tour, daily at 10am. Gives you a great sense of the Playacar area. Jungle Maya tour, an extreme adventure tour - with three zip lines (including one into the water), great guides, snorkeling in caves, authentic lunch, repeling into cave. Japanese restaurant at hotel - book asap. In fact, book all your specialty restaurant dinners asap as they can be hard to get - surprisingly. If you don't get one, stop back another day between 4pm and 5pm and you may get lucky as someone in line next to you may be switching or canceling her reservation and you can get it (that happened to us).

We took taxi into Playa one night - five minute ride. Good for shopping and a dinner out.

Thanks for choosing us and sharing your review with the online community.

We are happy you liked so much the location of the hotel as well as the food we offer.

We would like to add that the Iberostar Foundation has projects directed towards achieving the aims of Social Responsibility by improving social welfare, education and culture for people most in need. You can rest assured that the hotel reuses and donates everything that it can! :-)

Thanks for recommending excursions to other travelers to get to know the Riviera Maya a bit more.

We hope you come back to our hotel; it would be a real pleasure to serve you again.

Best regards,

Quality ManagerIberostar México

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Thank you. We appreciate your input.

This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.

Privileged situation directly on the beach of Playacar, around 3 km from the town of Playa del Carmen. Specially recommended for honeymooners. Varied, colourful entertainment programme. Large pool area. ...more less

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Also Known As:

Iberostar Playa Del Carmen

Iberostar Tucan Mexico

Iberostar Tucan Playa Del Carmen

Playa Del Carmen Iberostar

Iberostar Tucan Quetzal

Iberostar Tucan Playacar

Iberostar Tucan Hotel Riviera Maya/Playa Del Carmen, Mexico

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